Do it Your Way: Connecting with Customers and Members
Communicators have gotten lazy and cheap. When a new message is upon them, or when the last message did not reach the desired reach, the modern communicator can, unfortunately, be heard whispering under his breath “we will just post it on Facebook”. Real communication with your clients or members involves much more than just posting another post on social media.
The trap
As electronic communications became reliable a few decades ago, the market quickly realized that they had found the holy grail. This new medium was, after all, free, and only required the time to create a message and maybe include some graphics. As long as we had our own list of email addresses, the cost would be zero, or almost zero, considering the investment in application tools to help. Social media didn’t change this seemingly deep business tactic, but it exasperated it. The problem is, and was, a failure, since it achieves a much smaller goal than we care to admit.
I, for example, generally don’t use Facebook, except for my work; So if I am a member of that Chamber or Association, am I receiving the communication when it is published there? If I am a VIP customer of that organization, do I get the message? Obviously not. Replace Facebook in the above with ’email’, ‘Twitter’, ‘YouTube,’ Parler ‘,’ Rumble ‘or any other electronic communication medium and there is the same problem: not all members use that electronic medium. Or maybe they will, but not often. We have been doing it wrong!
Do it your way
Leaders, members, customers, staff … all people actually have preferences. They do things the way them we want to do them, not the way we want them to do things. This is especially true in communications. We need to go where they are, not try to force them to where we want them to be. Does a particular VIP prefer email? Text? A phone call at 11 p.m. after the family goes to sleep? We need to meet them wherever they want to be.
With mass communication to clients or members, we need to be more fluid and complete. We need to cover the media, not just pick one and say it’s done. So whatever your favorite is, there we are. The problem is, as we move from the macro to the micro, more specifically to the individual, we don’t know which one is his favorite. And time and funds are not unlimited. Most of us can’t afford to hire full-time employees just to post on all relevant social media while communicating through traditional media.
The secret sauce
So if we must be where our members and clients are, but we don’t know where they are, how do we select the right mix of media? The answer lies, as with most recipes, in selecting the best ingredients for the desired reaction and determining their mix. In our case, we must mix electronic media with physical media.
Electronic media are email, electronic newsletters (which we often mislead ourselves as different from email), our website, and social media. The best combination for small and nimble staff is to use a monthly, bi-monthly or quarterly email newsletter with sparse and sparse separate additional emails reserved for only the most important annual communications. This should be heavily supported by three to five social media platforms where we can copy and paste the same message and then make minor platform customization adjustments. Social media experts would argue that each platform is different, with a unique vernacular language, tempo, and language; therefore, this approach is sloppy and unsophisticated. Although I agree when debating the finer details of comparing and contrasting platforms, this is simply not realistic for the small organization. Stick with cut and paste to get the most impact in the shortest amount of time.
If we stop communication at the electronic door, we will lose more than 30% of our members and customers. Some will never see it as it will be buried in their piles of e-waste. Others will unsubscribe. Others will change jobs, which will change their email or social address, without informing us. And yet others will compromise us with junk mail, spam or e-file 13. So tried and true print media should be part of our plan as well. Postcards, magazines, flyers, letterhead-wrapped letters, flyers, and tri-fold brochures are all options. Like text messages, voice calls, and even robocalls, if successful. The art of communication is in mixing, portioning, and tapping with each medium. Of course, most physical media are exorbitantly priced compared to electronic media, which is why most chambers, companies, and associations have abandoned these media altogether. But that’s also why physical media are so much more effective than they were for our parents and grandparents – they just aren’t used much anymore, so when used correctly they cause a sensation.
Communication is about style, essence, writing the perfect copy, the best time, and having something worth saying. More importantly, though, it’s about being where the recipient is so they can receive that magnificence that is their hard work. If a tree falls in a forest and there is no one to hear it, does it make a sound? If a message is sent in a medium that your customer is not monitoring, do you make the sale? Keep customer or member? Survive as an entity? Mixing media, doing it your way, can be even more important than style, copy, content, or timing. At least you make your way.
If you found this article interesting and useful, you may also appreciate the other three articles in this four-part series on communications: Break the noise with your communication, The Goldilocks communication area, and Anatomy of a communication message.